Tarias Firebrand
Overview Tarias'' Firebrand,''' otherwise known as ''Thorezal ''in Kalimag, is a reclusive spellcaster originally hailing from Darkshire. Once deemed a failure in the eyes of the Kirin Tor and banished from their ranks, the headstrong arcanist has ventured to the edge of the afterlife and returned a new man, his ideals warped by the energies lingering within him. He's currently engaged in a personal venture, traversing to all four corners of the globe in hopes of a family reunion. Appearance and Personality Little is known of Tarias' personality in his early years, such records of education and lawful observation being lost during the fall of Stormwind and remaining that way. Whilst indeed neglectful to mention anything regarding that of his family and childhood, brisk citations have been made which acknowledge an alteration with both his mindset and overall psyche - pointing more-so towards the temporary destruction of his homeland than any individual circumstances. The current show of disposition is that of a passively-secluded individual, never venturing out of his way to seek anything that isn't needed nor gravely desired. Despite the visually obvious indifference towards elementary situations, Tarias has displayed a willing form of verbal contribution toward topics which contain foreign information regarding either magic itself or magical items - either which capable peaking the man's interest; the sorcerer having attained a tenacious desire to expand his already prodigious knowledge. Despite showing obvious signs of arrogance and self-loathing, an undeniable side effect of arcane corruption, Tarias has managed to retain much of his loving desires to those he willingly surrounds himself with. Be it friend or family, the man offers an almost possessive desire to keep them safe from those who seek to do them harm. Whilst his willingness to indulge in the curiosity of others is short and the confidence in his own abilities often tends to influence his decision, Tarias observes each situation from both his own and a secondary perspective; contemplating the results of his actions with a diminutive amount of care remaining present at the forefront of his cogitative measuring. The man is indeed a strenuous one to converse with, remaining hard-headed to his fold and never ceasing in his efforts to express that which is his, occasionally offensive, opinion. As infrequent as it may be, Tarias' humor shines brightly whenever it chooses to emerge from the depths of his enigmatic personality. The most distinct observation one is able to make about Tarias' visage is that of his eyes. Whilst originally a dark brown, the energies the sorcerer had exposed himself to altered his iris' to an ever-lucid orange; never halting their energetic journey in the confines of his eyeballs. Such humble orbs never failed to show his lack of given interest, nor his curiosity once sparked. Alike those he surrounds himself with, the man's hair remains at shoulder length - almost indefinitely corralled into the form of a tail and allowing the rest to freely float about as it may, giving a mildly scruffy luck to his otherwise well-kept physiognomy . Whilst hard to notice, Tarias' frame is littered with small clumps of ash and hard-to-spot stains of black dust - undoubtedly a due result of his fiery spells. Few scars linger on the man's body though those that do are clearly visible. A single, long streak sprawls across the length of his right leg, almost matching the gruesome claw-marks that, almost competitively, linger on his chest. Occasionally, Tarias dons a set of rather casual-looking garments; otherwise sticking to the conventional robe, having grown rather fond of the 'offical' regalia of an arcanist. Biography Induction to Magic Little is truly known of Tarias' origin and childhood, the majority of information - other than his name, birthplace and early magical potential - lost with the destruction of Stormwind and never to be found again. The earliest notable actions of the soon-to-be-sorcerer was his gradual venture to Dalaran, inevitably striving for his induction to the Kirin Tor and ambition for arcane mastery. Several documents lay claim to observations regarding Firebrand's prodigal skill, effortlessly and rapidly surpassing the initiates that surrounded him with the utmost of grace and prowess; displaying no intention of slowing down. From a simple 'Blink' to a masterful teleportation, the young sorcerer quickly climbed the ladder of hierarchy and into the upper echeloned. Though, gifts tend to be squandered when they've been present since birth. As Tarias' skill increased, so did his arrogance; remaining ever-equal to his masterful control of arcane and, ultimately, proving to be his downfall. Prodigy's Banishment An undisclosed amount of years had passed since Tarias first arrived within the magical walls of Dalaran, his skill and arrogance doubling with each previous limit he passed. With seemingly limitless paths and doors open to him, the man languidly chose a route which he'd eventually be known across the world for. Pyromancy. With a natural composition as volatile as the sorcerer and raw, destructive powers to match, Tarias immediately set to incorporating his skill with conjuration and transmutation entwine with his desired, elemental nature in an dexterous way; using the air around him to empower his spells to an elevated capability beyond that of any practical means. Inevitably, the thirst for greater knowledge and power proved too much. As gifted as he believed himself to be, such only proven in recent years with his undeniably expeditious progress, the pace of mastery wouldn't come quick enough. Upon realisation that the conventional means of improvement would take him decades, the man began to doubt his own skill. He desired, and in his own mind needed, a quicker route that mortal means wasn't capable of giving him. Through a quick-thought plan, Tarias aimed to sneak within the Violet Hold and acquire any magical artifacts that would grant him empowerment - ultimately failing and, as a result of his negligence towards arcane, a lack of patience and overall attempted illegal activity, the Kirin Tor saw no other means but to banish him. Though a free man, Firebrand traversed without any true meaning. His then-pointless ventures led him from the cold wastelands of Northrend to the barren desert of Uldum before stumbling into the tavern. His eyes found themselves drawn to a magenta-clad individual, a staff laying dormant upon his back and a simple hood covering his facial features; such being none other than Xolryn Narekmus - The Red Mage. Recovery of a Primal As the years passed and, under the tutelage of Xolryn, the sorcerer's power increased, the day came that would eventually cement Tarias' future. With months of planning, a fortune spent on supplies and many sleepless nights, Tarias, Xolryn, David and Mithaniel ventured into the realm of eternal flame to recover, and bind, the essence of an age-lost elemental - Pyralis. After hours upon hours of hopeful tracking, tedious venturing through the volcanic wasteland and the eventual discovery of the elemental's location, a rather lengthy, spell-flinging battle begun. Whilst the elemental had the signature land and homefield advantage, the congregation of sorcerer's had the skill and numbers to, eventually, overpower him; Pyralis' very essence finding itself locked and bound to Tarias' - granting the sorcerer a temporary link to the realm of fire and an empowerment to bolster his magical strength. Sacrament of Flame With the retrieval of Pyralis, the respective knowledge and power being a direct result, the second, and final, stage of extra-planar operations began. As before, months of careful planning took place; the sorcerer's following up on possible leads and rumours in regards to the mythical 'Prince of Flames'; ever-curious to understand, and Tarias more-so, acquire their position and power. Inevitably, that too came to fruition. Both Firebrand and The Red Mage, once more, ventured into the realm of eternal fire; the pair searching far and wide before coming across the very target they'd come to silence. Ragnarok. The monument of elemental force fought by insidious, cowardly means; using the residual elementals to aid him against the pair of arcanists. Inevitably, after possibly hours of tactical warfare, Ragnarok fell - forever slain within the domain of fire. As the prince was no more, Tarias, entwine with Pyralis as the acting figure, took the title for themselves; numerous spirits of fire beckoning to their call and rallying to his service. Forever more, Tarias Firebrand had cemented himself within the catacombs of history as a '''''Prince of Flame; or so it may have seemed. Tarias' Fall Years upon years of practice made perfect for the venerable sorcerer; such only aided with Xolryn's guidance and, inevitably, the grandiose power he'd acquired in his earlier travels was moulded to a generally unfathomable mastery. Doubtless was his skill with fire - such so grand the very flames themselves refused to scorch Firebrand's skin as if fearful of making contact. Though, as he'd already established in his time within Dalaran, all good things must come to an end. As the campaign on Draenor had to come an end and Archimonde entwine being destroyed, Sanlow - a trading town nestled in the wondrous regions of the Arathi Highlands - found itself threatened by the likes of the horde; more-so specifically the forsaken and sect of orcish warriors. Prideful of his plethora of baffling triumphs in the years that had passed, Tarias - with his arrogance keeping him blind to the inevitable danger such a foolish task posed - sought to venture out and inspect the forsaken congregation that once posed a threat to the confines of Sanlow. Eventually, his dreary travels brought him to the very edge of silverpine and to the brink of gilneas; a variety of undead necromancers abruptly springing from nowhere and initiating an attack. Though physically tired, Tarias' honed skilled proved most useful; initially ensconcing himself in a sheet of reflection before allowing the signature blue flames to flicker to life - the wild, azure embers firing out in controlled bursts to incinerate those that posed a threat. Though, the cunning undead hadn't ventured out alone - no. With a jingle of chains and abhorrent growls, a creature emerged from the very same area said undead had; such being none other than an ethereal devourer. The creature, native to the ethereal plane, was no doubt yanked from its respective location and bound by the necromantic energy the forsaken touted themselves upon. With a word of gutterspeak, the monstrous creature charged forward; the variety of claw-edged arms swinging without mercy and, despite the sorcerer's agile movements, the devourer seemed to be horrendously faster. A handful of claws raked across his body - a gush of crimson liquid spilling from the wounds and staining the rocky surface Tarias weakly stood upon. Rugged breath after rugged breath slithered from the man's gullet, blood spilling from his mouth though not being granted a moment of rest as the mystical creature, with as little empathy as prior, charged towards its target in an attempt to strike. For what seemed like hours, Tarias and the devourer exchanged blows - the creature's heavy magical resistance having become more than aware after a handful of magical strikes had indeed landed though offered no damage nor effect. In a last ditch effort, the adherent called upon the power that remained latent in his staff, Apexi, and sought to unleash of blinding streak of solar energy in an attempt to outright incinerate the creature though, weakened and tired from the lengthy fight, he proved to be too slow. A single tentacle, such as razor sharp as any man-made blade, surged towards the sorcerer - cutting through the wielded stave and shattering the magical constitution that kept it together and outright destroying it. A moment of numb feeling was quickly overshadowed by excruciating agony; Tarias peering towards his chest only to realise he'd been impaled; fatally so. Mere moments after he'd been struck, the devourer retracted the extended, natural, weapon; an endless stream of blood spilling from the wound and, within little to no time, the sorcerer feel to the floor; dead. Azazel's Rise Though he'd come to terms with the fact he was, inevitably, going to perish at the hands of the ethereal creature, Tarias found comfort in the fact his eternal rest was mere moments away. Though as quickly as the warm embrace of that very rest came, the sorcerer found himself snatched away by the chilling touch of the val'kyr - his soul yanked from the Shadowlands and imperfectly bound to his partially destroyed body. Initially, Tarias felt nothing; all five senses, though an added sixth soon before, remaining dulled and void of any stigma. "Am I dreaming?" He thought, pushing himself upwards moments later yet finding himself surrounded by a variety of undead - such varying from completely intact to heavily damaged if not completely useless in every meaning of the word. Though he wished to feel fear, no such emotion came - no shock thereafter either nor an increase heart rate. For a moment, Firebrand peered down at himself; the holes in his torso remaining visible though ushering forth no pain as they seemingly should and, in that moment, it hit him. Whilst inspecting himself for minutes on end, the concious sorcerer hadn't taken a single breath since he'd awoken nor had he picked up on, what he would have thought to be, the obvious odour the undead should have given off. His eyes, such adorned with an azure lambency, quickly shot upwards yet only to catch sight of a winged fiend; a val'kyr. The moment of realisation had dawned on the man; for he was no man at all. No longer was he tied to the realm of the living. No longer would the natural restrictions of hunger, pain and lust overtaken his senses for he was no longer bound to the laws that he'd been born to for he, as of that very defining moment, was forsaken. Council of Equity Next to nothing is known, save whispers and rumours, of the otherwise indistinguishable congregation. Having initially popped up amongst the legends of the trolls thousands of years ago as an amassment of darkened, otherworldly forces, it gradually faded into nothing more than assumed-mindless babble of the aboriginals. Those that remain sceptical in the current age often believe it was a foretelling of Gul'dan's 'Shadow Council' and dismiss that the alternative faction ever existed to begin with. Notes * Tarias has been known to incorporate a variety of fire-based spells of any relative means. From the Fire Shuriken to the Flamestrider Exhalation, all serve a perfect use for a given scenario. Speculation * A variety of trolls, after hearing of the deeds and will of Tarias, believe him to be a warrior, or even an incarnation, sent forth from Pogeyan, the fire spirit. * Firebrand's near-universally gifted manipulation of fire has led some notable mages, and even shamans, to speculate on whether or not the sorcerer has transcended the bounds of human and elemental. This was later disproved. * Given the magnitude of power and position Tarias had attained within the Firelands, certain sects within the Alliance, Horde and the Earthen Ring believe he may be capable of creating new Knights of Flame. Whilst this was never a proven ability by any means, it was later decided that his shattered connection to the elemental plane made the feat nigh impossible. Category:Firelands Category:Kirin Tor Category:Elemental Category:Alliance